Friend,
You may remember The West Wing, a television show about fictional president Jed Bartlet and his staff. The show has recently gained new attention thanks in part to a podcast called The West Wing Weekly, whose hosts go through the episodes week by week and analyze them, often bringing in experts to weigh in.
It’s one of my favorite podcasts, and that’s why I’m so excited to share that our Executive Director, John Tierney, was featured on the most recent edition about an episode (season 5, episode 13) that followed the Bartlet team as they tried to determine the party responsible for a nuclear detonation.
In the show, President Bartlet talks about the perils of nuclear weapons, recalling how physicists like our founder Dr. Leo Szilard and former board member Hans Bethe became staunch critics of nuclear weapons after creating them. On the podcast, Mr. Tierney talks about why Dr. Szilard felt compelled to create our organization, and discusses current nuclear policy issues like no-first-use legislation.
In rewatching the show, I was struck by the characters’ reliance on experts, especially when it comes to foreign policy. I thought about the foreign policy experts we endorse — Lauren Baer (D-FL-18), Andy Kim (D-NJ-03), Amb. Nancy Soderberg (D-FL-06) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07) — and how lucky we would be to have their expertise in Congress. They are all national security professionals who understand that diplomacy must be prioritized over bluster, rhetoric and threats.
Sincerely,
Anna Schumann
Communications Director
Council for a Livable World
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